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Tag: Korea

  • Apple’s first South Korean store set to open in Seoul on Jan. 27

    Apple’s first South Korean store set to open in Seoul on Jan. 27

    The first official Apple Store Korea will open later this month.

    Apple Korea announced today that its first fully-fledged retail shop in South Korea will open on January 27, on Garosugil in the affluent southern district of Gangnam in Seoul.Apple said on its website that the store will trade seven days a week from 10am to 10pm.

    Consumers will be able to try out iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads, MacBooks and other Apple products, visit the Genius Grove for repairs, and attend training sessions on the use of Apple gadgets at the store.

    Apple said it has been working with mobile carriers, including SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus so users can register and set up their mobile phones at the store.

    Apple began replacing iPhone batteries early this month as hundreds of thousands of South Korean iPhone users filed a suit over allegations the tech giant intentionally slowed down older iPhones to push users to buy new models.

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  • Cryptoсurrency Market Continues to Float After Regulation From South Korea

    Cryptoсurrency Market Continues to Float After Regulation From South Korea

    This weekend the cryptocurrency markets went on contending against the setback caused by a last week’s regulatory announcement from South Korea, which turned out to be false.

    On January 11, Justice Minister Park stated that the ministry is working on drafting a cryptocurrency trading ban bill in order to close down cryptocurrency exchanges. Just after that the price of almost all cryptocurrencies in the global market lost in value, with Bitcoin and Ethereum falling by nearly 10 percent. A couple of hours later, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance found out about the claims of Minister Park through media reports and emphasized that it did not support the personal statement of Minister Park nor agreed with it.

    On January 12, the Blue House, the executive office of President Moon Jae-in, made a public statement and apologized to South Korean citizens for the recent cryptocurrency trading ban controversy.They pointed out that the ban would not be imposed in the short-term.

    The South Korean faked ban is not the only attempt to regulate the cryptocurrency exchanges’ activity. Earlier China, one of the dominant players in terms of Bitcoin mining activities due to low electricity cost, banned Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and closed down local Bitcoin exchanges. It also decided to put restrictions on the use of electricity consumed by the Bitcoin miners.

    However, regulators have never been able to kill off Bitcoin. But it is clear that they carry a lot of weight when it comes to affecting the market price.

    With the exception of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dash, the top 10 cryptocurrencies in the global market have increased in value after the ban turning out to be fake.

    Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, only 20 managed to keep their values in the last 24 hours. In particular, cryptocurrencies, which are heavily concentrated in the South Korean crypto exchange market in terms of daily trading volume and user activity, have recovered faster than others.

    According to the data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin price decreased by 0.9% in the last 24 hours and currently makes up $13,722, while Ethereum suffered a 1.93% loss, falling down to $1331,79. Conversely, some currencies enjoyed an increase in value. Specifically, the price of Cardano increased by 4.30% and now runs at $0,833502. Another cryptocurrency that scored an advance is NEO – it increased by 13.89%, reaching $157,99.

    Given that the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange market is already recovering at a rapid rate, the global market will likely follow suit.

    However, there is one more thing that can fluster cryptocurrency admirers. Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as ‘mining’. The first bitcoin was created in January 2009, and there were nearly 21 million coins left to be mined. As more coins were mined, the higher rose the bitcoin’s price. So far on January 15, 2018, 16,803,537 BTC have been mined, meaning that there’s only 4196463 – less than 20 percent — left for miners to acquire. This leads to growth in the demand for the cryptocurrency, which allows to speculate that the bitcoin prices will take a flight in the near future.co

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  • Starbucks Coffee Korea forecast to post record-high operating profit

    Starbucks Coffee Korea forecast to post record-high operating profit

    Starbucks Korea’s annual operating profit soared past 100 billion won (US$94 million) for the first time last year, despite intense competition in the domestic cafe sector.

    Industry sources told Yonhap news service the record result was driven by solid demand from young consumers.

    The operating profit of the coffee chain, which is run by South Korean retail conglomerate Shinsegae, was estimated at 110 billion won last year, according to the sources. Sales were estimated to have reached 1.2 trillion won (US$1.128 billion).

    The company’s annual revenue first topped the 1 trillion-won mark in 2016, setting a milestone in the South Korean coffee industry.

    The figures for its competitors, such as A Twosome Place and Angel-in-us Coffee, are known to average between 100 and 200 billion won, according to industry sources.

    Starbucks, which opened its first Korean branch near Ewha Womans University in Seoul in 1999, had 1140 stores throughout the country as of last month.

    In December, the coffee chain opened its largest store in the country in Seoul.

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  • H:Connect brings Korean style to Vietnam

    H:Connect brings Korean style to Vietnam

    Korean fast-fashion brand H:Connect has expanded into Vietnam, opening two stores.

    H:Connect Vietnam’s first store opened two weeks ago in Hanoi.

    Now a second store has opened in Crescent Mall in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7, taking up more than 450sqm. Both shops offer trendy clothing designed in Korea for both men and women.

    Vietnam has long been on the radar of the brand thanks to the huge popularity of Korean wave there, as well as the country’s large Korean expat community.

    Founded in 2006, H:Connect now has stores in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.

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  • Korea’s Caffe Bene sees the end

    Korea’s Caffe Bene sees the end

    Korean coffee chain Caffe Bene has collapsed, filing for a court-led restructuring scheme on Friday.

    Yonhap news service reports the court will soon decide whether to put the ailing coffee chain under its receivership or commence liquidation.

    The legal move follows a protracted slump and mounting losses, the company said. In 2016, the company lost about US$32 million on sales of $73 million, down 32 per cent on the previous year. At that time it operated 800 stores in Korea, a figure it said would shrink as it restructured, and about 50 in the US.

    Launched in 2008, Caffe Bene expanded to become one of South Korea’s largest coffee franchises, opening more than 1000 stores in five years, but lost ground in the saturated coffee market. While its US website claims it has opened 1600 stores worldwide, the exact number still trading is difficult to ascertain. It has opened in Vietnam, the US, China, Canada, Brunei, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Mongolia.

    But the international foray has met with mixed success. The Cambodian store has already closed and the last Facebook post by the Singapore cafe is dated February last year. In Vietnam several stores have opened and closed, including its downtown flagship which drew huge queues when it opened in 2014. Three outlets remain trading there, but it is not clear if they are franchised or company-owned.

    The company also appears to have exited the Canadian market.

    While rapid growth in the consumption of brewed coffee drove up the Korean coffee industry’s overall expansion, Caffe Bene was unable to match the growth rate at home.

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  • Shilla Duty Free sets up second presence in Incheon airport

    Shilla Duty Free sets up second presence in Incheon airport

    With its new second store at Incheon International Airport (IIA), Shilla Duty Free says it now has cosmetics and perfume outlets at all passenger terminals in Asia’s three largest airports.

    The South Korean duty-free retailer says it has shops at all four terminals at Singapore’s Changi Airport and at Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong. Its first store at IIA opened in 2001.

    Cosmetics and perfume are considered key duty-free items as they generate strong revenue. In the case of IIA’s duty-free shops, cosmetics and perfume account for 38 per cent of all sales.

    Shilla Duty Free, part of Hotel Shilla, says it expects overseas business to soon exceed KW1 trillion (US$939 million).

    Its new store covers 2100sqm and offers products from 110 brands including Chanel, Dior, Estee Lauder, Lancome, SK-II and Sulwhasoo. It features a “digital beauty bar” that uses such technology as a VR “beauty mirror”.

  • Crypto Trading in Korea Continues, Questions Remain

    Crypto Trading in Korea Continues, Questions Remain

    Cryptocurrency trading in Korea is getting more detached, flying by its own rules. Recently, the news of an upcoming ban rattled the market. CoinMarketCap decided to alter its calculation protocol to exclude prices in Korea, thus for a while scaring investors that a flash crash had happened.

    But it turns out, Korean trading is not really affecting the sentiment of other markets. Korean trading mostly serves a very local taste for risk. In the summer months, interest in Bitcoin for a while coincided with the threat of North Korea.

    Later, it turned out that Koreans simply found investing in crypto irresistible, and moved in en masse. In the past, Korean authorities have had other bouts of market mania related to risky assets, thus being extremely anxious on how cryptocurrencies could affect personal finance.

    The Korean markets have seen an influx of retail investors, ranging from office workers to students, in search of a fast-growing investment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Korean exchanges are fast to adopt new coins and allow immediate trading in pairs against fiat.

    But some see the latest price spikes as highly speculative and at a risk of crashing.

    For now, there are no further updates on what the Korean government would do with exchanges. Trading continues at a premium to US-based exchanges, and the Korean Won remains the fourth most active fiat currency in trading pairs.

    The matter is becoming politicized, and there are protests that the government should not meddle too much and make honest investors into outlaws.

    And while Bitcoin commands higher prices, it is difficult to move assets between exchanges and make use of the difference in trading.

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  • Lululemon leader in experiential marketing

    Lululemon leader in experiential marketing

    Healthy diet, meditation and breathing, gift wrapping, those are the free classes that Canadian Yoga clothing brand Lululemon offers for the public every month.

    The Cheongdam Flagship Store, which opened in May 2017, runs a whole floor as a studio for experience programs.

    For Lululemon it is important to promote healthy lifestyle rather than simple product marketing, and will be much helpful to secure customers by offering brand experience.

    Lululemon is considered to be a leader in experiential marketing. Founded in Canada in 1998, the brand has a business philosophy of “enabling everyone to enjoy a happy life through products and experiences that change their lives.”

    Lululemon Experience ‘Community Class’ does not mean that all classes are directly related to yoga clothing sales.

    There are Yoga-related classes such as Ashtanga and Broga (men’s yoga) for the brand experience, but there are many other lessons such as flower arrangement, gift wrapping, healthy diet, weaving, boxing.

    Ice yoga, which started with the Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel l in December 2017 and set to be running until March 2018, is very popular for instance.

    Lululemon Korea officials said “Lululemom stores around the world run yoga classes after heir business time. However, Korea is the first to separately have a yoga studio for the classes such as Cheongdam Flagship Store and Stafield Hanam in Asia.

    It is important to secure Korean consumers who are sensitive to trends. In addition, 30% of the class participants voluntarily purchase clothes.

    Lululemon receives their review from not only customers, but also exercise experts who participate as lecturers and community class participants to reflect on product development.

    In January 2018, ‘Asian Exclusive Line’ event reflecting Asian people’s body shape was  held at Cheongdam Flagship Store. “The opinions of demanding Korean consumers play an important role in establishing an Asian business strategy,” a company official said.

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  • Hyundai Motor and Aurora Partner to Develop Level 4 Autonomous Vehicles by 2021

    Hyundai Motor and Aurora Partner to Develop Level 4 Autonomous Vehicles by 2021

    Last week, Hyundai Motor Company and Aurora, a leader in autonomous vehicle technology, announced a strategic partnership to bring self-driving Hyundai vehicles to market by 2021. This partnership will incorporate Aurora’s self-driving technology into Hyundai vehicles starting with models custom-developed and launched in test programs and pilot cities. Over the longer term, Hyundai and Aurora will work to commercialize self-driving vehicles worldwide.

    To start, the partnership will focus on the ongoing development of hardware and software for automated and autonomous driving and the back-end data services required for Level 4 automation. Level 4 autonomous vehicles defined by SAE can operate without human input or oversight under select conditions. The goal of the partnership is to deploy autonomous driving quickly, broadly and safely.

    “We know the future of transportation is autonomous, and autonomous driving technology needs to be proven in the real-world to accelerate deployment in a safe and scalable manner,” said Dr. Woong Chul Yang, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor. “Combining our advanced vehicle technology that embeds the latest safety features with Aurora’s leading suite of Level 4 autonomous technology will advance this revolution in mobility with Hyundai in a leadership position.”

    Hyundai and Aurora share the common vision of improving safety and mobility on the world’s roads, and together bring the skills and experience required to successfully introduce this technology at scale. For nearly 50 years, Hyundai has been a leader in vehicle design, safety and manufacturing, catapulting the company to become one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers together with its Kia Motors Corporation affiliate.

    For the last two decades, Aurora’s founders have spearheaded the self-driving revolution, building teams and pioneering modern machine learning techniques now on the cusp of transforming transportation. Together, Hyundai and Aurora will move quickly to bring self-driving technology to market around the world.

    “Aurora is excited to partner with Hyundai Motor to make the social benefits of self-driving available globally,” said Dr. Chris Urmson, CEO of Aurora. “This partnership combines Hyundai’s strengths in vehicle design, safety and manufacturing with Aurora’s expertise in self-driving technologies to make a positive difference in the world.”

    Hyundai Motor’s partnership with Aurora is part of the company’s ongoing efforts towards realizing fully autonomous driving. Hyundai first began testing autonomous vehicles on public roads of the USA in 2015, having been granted a license by the state of Nevada. Last year at the 2017 CES, Hyundai advanced its trials in urban environments, demonstrating self-driving technologies to the public with its autonomous IONIQ models.

    Hyundai’s latest new-generation fuel-cell vehicle, which will make its official global debut at CES 2018 next week, will become the first model to be utilized in the test processes starting this year. The fuel-cell powertrain will offer an ideal platform to implement autonomous driving technologies, which requires a massive amount of power to support the large amount of data communication as well as the operation of hardware such as sensors. Hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle will be able to provide a stable electric power supply without concerns about driving range.

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  • Richemont asia pacific rocket sales

    Richemont asia pacific rocket sales

    Asia Pacific has continued double-digit growth for heritage brand owner Richemont for its third quarter to the end of December.

    Total sales in the quarter increased by 7 per cent at constant exchange rates and by 1 per cent at actual rates over the same period a year earlier.

    Retail sales were mainly driven by the group’s jewellery maisons and specialist watchmakers, especially in Asia Pacific, where growth was led by Mainland China, Korea, Hong Kong and Macau.

    A rise in sales in Japan was supported by strong growth from the watchmakers and a favourable currency environment, says Richemont. Sales there reached €294 million (US$354 million), up 5 per cent at constant exchange rates but down 6 per cent at actual rates.

    Asia Pacific quarterly sales were €1.18 billion, up 11 per cent at constant exchange rates and 5 per cent at actual rates.

    Underpinned by solid performances in both jewellery and watches, overall retail sales maintained strong momentum, recording 13 per cent growth. Jewellery shone with an 11 per cent increase.

    Other businesses posted stable sales, with growth notably from Montblanc, Chloe and Lancel. Excluding the impact of the sale of Shanghai Tang, the other businesses would have had moderate growth.

    Sales over the nine months to the end of December grew by 10 per cent at constant exchange rates and by 7 per cent at actual exchange rates.

    Richemont’s portfolio of international “maisons” covers three segments: jewellery (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Giampiero Bodino), specialist watchmakers (A Lange & Sohne, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis and Vacheron Constantin, as well as the Ralph Lauren watch and jewellery JV), and other businesses (including Alfred Dunhill, Azzedine Alaia, Chloe, Lancel, Montblanc and Peter Millar).

    Richemont also holds a 49 per cent equity-accounted interest in the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group.

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  • LV chooses Korea for the launch of its new menswear collection

    LV chooses Korea for the launch of its new menswear collection

    French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has chosen Korea for the launch of its new collection for men.

    The new SS18 menswear and bags will be available in Shinsegae Department Store from 19 January, and Louis Vuitton men’s exclusive store in Seoul from the 10 January 2018.

    Louis Vuitton said the collection is pre-sold at seven stores in seven countries with maily trend-conscious consumers.

    Louis Vuitton selected 7 countries to introduce its new menswear collection, namely Korea, France, the United States, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

    In each country, the brand selected one store to represent the brand, and pre-release the collection.

    This new product reflects the design inspired by famous islands around the world with the subject of ‘luxury island hopping’.

    Leather goods, clothing, shoes, accessories, including the Monogram Reflective Keypole Bag, which was first unveiled in the menswear collection in Paris last June, are all available in the selected stores.

    Kim John, Artistic Director of the Louis Vuitton Men Collection Design said “this collection has been designed with a special reminder of beautiful islands such as New Zealand, Easter Island and Hawaii,” and “Travel and Island, where different cultures and identities can be experienced, that is where I got the idea from.”

    Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton store specializing in menswear was opened on the sixth floor of Shinsegae Department Store’s main branch in Seoul. The department store has accommodated a renovated store featuring women’s collections as well on the ground floor.

    Other Louis Vuitton stores can only be found at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, Harrods in London, and Shin Kong Place in Beijing, as well as Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch stores having also womenswear.

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  • Starbucks Debuts Largest Store in South Korea

    Starbucks Debuts Largest Store in South Korea

    Starbucks Coffee Korea Co., a 50/50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee International, Inc. and Shinsegae Group, celebrated the opening of Korea’s largest Starbucks store in Central Seoul near Jonggak Station in December 2017. Located in Jongro Tower, with more than 900 residents, the store sits between two of the Tower’s floors covering over 1,000 square meters (11,000 square feet). Jonggak Station serves as a gathering place for all generations of Koreans to shop, dine, work and play in a location where history and tradition of Korean culture merge with modern city amenities.

    The Jongro store features a “Grand Bar,” a triangular bar on the second floor measuring 25 meters (82 feet), making it the largest stand-alone bar at any Starbucks across South Korea, and puts both coffee forward and Teavana handcrafted beverages at centerstage.

    Beyond the Grand Bar, the space also offers a space known as the Coffee Stage, for a more personalized and intimate coffee experience with Starbucks baristas. In addition, specially-designed seating zones, inspired by the six commonly traded goods among Koreans during the Chosun Dynasty, provide comfortable seating for large groups, close friends and individuals to enjoy a cup of coffee in this unique atmosphere.

    “The Jongro store represents the 19-year coffee journey we’ve been on with Korean customers,” said S.K. Lee, CEO, Starbucks Coffee Korea. “We are pleased to create a place which pays respect to our Korean heritage while elevating the coffee retail experience customers have come to expect of Starbucks.”

    The beverage menu at the Jongro store includes nearly 100 handcrafted customized beverages. The Teavana Blueberry Bliss and Teavana Lavender Sage beverages are uniquely brewed on a Siphon to extract the full tea flavors and aromas. These teas, as well as the Starbucks Reserve Origin Flight and Reserve Brew Comparison tasting experiences, can only be found at the Jongro store.

    In addition, more than 60 locally-sourced food items are available, including seven various rice dishes such as a Cactus rice ball with beans and sweet potato, as well as light meals and snacks, and can be found only at this location.

    “We are committed to innovating the Starbucks Experience to meet the expectations and needs of our customers and are proud to bring our Korean customers closer to our coffee and partners (employees) than ever before,” said Mark Ring, president of Starbucks Asia Pacific.

    Since opening in 1999, Starbucks today has more than 1,140 stores across 75 cities in South Korea. Employing over 13,000 partners (employees), Starbucks Korea is a leading Employer of Choice in the country and is also a model of corporate citizenship with an robust social impact agenda, partnering with over 140 communities and nonprofits to serve its partners and the community.

  • Tartine Bakery to Open in Seoul in 2018

    Tartine Bakery to Open in Seoul in 2018

    Award-winning Tartine Bakery is expanding from San Francisco and will open its first overseas branch in Seoul’s Hannam Dong area on February 9.

    There are plans to also open about four more Tartine Korea outlets over the next 12 to 18 months.

    Heading the Korean branch will be pastry chef Lee Hyun Hee and chef Edward Lee, co-founder of Baroque Bakery and Pizzeria d’Buzza in Seoul. The two Korean chefs have spent six months in San Francisco learning the bakery’s recipes, says Food And Wine magazine.

    Tartine founder Chad Robertson, who has studied Korean martial art taekwondo, describes Korea’s food culture as “really amazing” with its take on Western food.

    Tartine’s San Francisco shop attracts queues for its morning buns, a croissant dough rolled into a bun form and dusted with sugar, orange zest and cinnamon, as well as its buttermilk scones studded with currants, and fresh loaves ranging from baguettes to offerings made with buckwheat and quinoa.

    Meanwhile, the bakery has just opened a 464sqm bread factory in San Francisco that combines a pastry shop, restaurant, ice-cream parlour and coffee shop in a warehouse space. The company plans to replicate this concept in a 3716sqm space in downtown Los Angeles, which will also include a coffee lab and roastery as well as a trattoria and pizzeria.

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  • UL-OS to appoint its new brand ambassador

    UL-OS to appoint its new brand ambassador

    TVXQ ‘Yunho (Jeong Yun-ho)’ was selected as the first solo male cosmetics brand model.

    UL-OS, a male total skin care brand in Otsuka Pharmaceutical Korea, announced on  that the brand selected Yunho, the leader of group Dong Bang Shin Ki (TVXQ).

    An UL-OS official said, “We decided to choose Yunho as a new model, judging that Yunho’s healthy skin and sophisticated image fit well with the Ul-os brand image.”

    Yunho finished shooting a new TV advertisement of UL-OS’s representative product of all-in-one moisturizer. In this advertisement, Yunho’s stylish and manly charm will appeal to viewers with his UL-OS brand message and will be aired from January 1, 2018

    Yunho said “I am very interested in skin care products for normal moist and healthy skin.” “I am very pleased to be a model of the UL-OS brand that helps people to understand skin troubles and needs accurately and to provide effective skin care.”

    Yunho, who was selected as the fourth model of UL-OS after Cha Tae Hyun, Jung Woo and Eric, is the 13th year of his debut this year, as a K-POP leader, Korea’s best male idol, and he has been loved by fans home and abroad. He has been still active in the five major dome tours in Japan since November 2017.

    Meanwhile, men’s total skin care brand UL-OS presents three all-in-one moisturizers (skin milk, skin lotion, and skin conditioner) as men’s all-in-one products and has a full skin care line including scalp shampoo, skin wash, sunblock and face sheet.

    In particular, UL-OS Skin Milk has recently been selected as a men’s cosmetics standard at the Olive Young 2017 Health & Beauty Awards, and received continuous support from male consumers, including the Olive Young Health and Beauty Award in the men’s all-in-one category for the second consecutive year.

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  • Amorepacific bets on luxury cosmetics for Europe push

    Amorepacific bets on luxury cosmetics for Europe push

    After launching in France last year, South Korean cosmetics company Amorepacific aims to introduce one of its luxury brands in Britain this year and in Germany next year.

    It began selling its luxury Sulwhasoo brand of creams and other cosmetic products in Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris in September.

    Amorepacific Europe head Thierry Maman, hired in 2015 from the perfume and beauty arm of LVMH’s Givenchy, says the Paris outlet is a good testing ground.

    The group first tried to break into the French cosmetics market 30 years ago but withdrew after just two years because of poor sales. It bought French perfume house Annick Goutal in 2011.

    Maman says France is a tough market, but Sulwhasoo is betting on drawing customers with its traditional herbal-inspired formulas.

    Amorepacific’s European revenues, including Goutal, are less than €50 million (US$60 million) annually but are expected to rise by 20 per cent is year, he says.

    Sales were hit last year when diplomatic tensions with China cut back Chinese tourists to South Korea. Relations are now on the mend, but Amorepacific’s sales fell 8 per cent to about KW4 trillion (US$3.76 billion) in the year to September.

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